Game Day – Day 4
Mercifully, we both got a decent night’s sleep at long last. I was up relatively early, as I had conference on the brain. The first sessions of talks at the conference were not very relevant for me, so I opted to stay at the apartment and prepare for my poster presentation.
Urban wanderers – Day 3
Photos We were again somewhat slow getting started, as David was still not getting a good night’s sleep. Our plan for the day was to grab a bit of lunch in New Town and then check out Edinburgh Castle before heading over to the conference.
A quiet day in Edinburgh – Day 2
Despite having fallen asleep relatively early, David did not have the smoothest night, waking up at 2 am and not able to fall asleep for a couple of hours. The guest house provided a hot breakfast (eggs, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, sausage), which was a nice way to kick-start the day.
A wee sojourn in Scotland – Day 1
Photos We were fortunate to have a relatively relaxing start to our journey—taking a cab to the airport and lounging in the United Lounge with our free wine and whisky. Because we used miles to book David’s flight back in July, we weren’t able to get seats together, but through a fluke of fate, I happened to be seated next to a woman whose husband was seated next to David, so we were able to switch seats. Our flight was…
a sojourn through the lochs
Photos We awoke to a lovely breakfast of eggs and bacon and fruit. For David, he sampled black pudding, a Scottish specialty, which is essentially pig’s blood sausage. The flavour transported him back to Colorado and his grandmother’s blood sausage. After chatting with Kat, the owner, and some Aussie guests about the general state of world affairs (as is customary with such international gatherings). We were soon on our way, up the only road that ventures further into the Highlands.…
A wee roadtrip across the Highlands
Photos After a brief flurry of packing and breakfast toast, David and I were out the door, making a quick stop at the printing place to print off some documents needed for the car rental. We hopped in a cab and were greeted with another jovial Scotsman, who entertained with information about the Highlands. Picking up the car rental was surprisingly painless, and we were soon met with our Vauxhall. D was eager to get driving and embrace the challenge…
Castles, palaces and scones…oh my!
Photos So my endeavour to feel less sick seemed to pay off in the morning, as my sore throat had largely subsided; however, my sinuses were definitely feeling stuffed. We had actually slept in ’til about 9am, which was novelty after the 6am starts of the last few days. David blissfully made breakfast (left-over trout with cream cheese on toast), and we eventually got ourselves together and out the door. First on the docket for the day was the Palace…
Blustery walks
Photos It was an early morning start (not intentionally, one of the perks of sharing a wall with a youngin). After a quick meal of toast and jam, we headed off on our walk towards the National Gallery. The sky was overcast and spitting, so we swung by a Starbucks (much to D’s chagrin) and grabbed coffee and hot chocolate to warm us up. It was a leisurely walk down the street, and we discovered what looked to be some…
Academic flavour
Photos We awoke at a surprisingly decent hour in the morning, enjoying a spot of toast and jam before heading out to D’s first meeting of the day. We stopped briefly at the Victor Hugo deli to grab some needed caffeination. D noted that their lattes (at least at this place) tasted different, almost cinnamony. It was then off to the University of Edinburgh, so we walked across a large park known as the Meadows to reach the campus. The…
Off to tartan country
Travel days are often quite busy and exciting, filled with last-minute packing and frantic emails to resolve unfinished business. Our “off to the UK” travel day was particularly fun-filled as I had still had testing out at UBC to finish a few hours before my flight. Through some unfortunate cancellations, I was forced to schedule my last participant about an hour before our check-in time. Thankfully, testing went off without a hitch, and we were soon off to the airport.…
